The properties of proteins functioning outside their natural milieu are often suboptimal. For instance, enzymes (e.g., proteases, lipases, amylases, cellulases, etc.) are frequently used for cleaning stains from fabric in laundry detergents, which typically include a complex combination of active ingredients. In fact, most cleaning products include a surfactant system, bleaching agents, builders, suds suppressors, soil-suspending agents, soil-release agents, optical brighteners, softening agents, dispersants, dye transfer inhibition compounds, abrasives, bactericides, and perfumes, as well as enzymes for cleaning. Thus despite the complexity of current detergents, there are many stains that are difficult to completely remove, due in part to suboptimal enzyme performance. Despite much research in enzyme development, there remains a need in the art for methods to engineer proteins for particular uses and conditions. Indeed, there remains a need in the art for methods to rapidly and systematically tailor electrostatic properties of other to optimize their performance in commercial applications. In particular, there remains a need in the art for methods to engineer industrially useful enzymes, including but not limited to lipases, amylases, cutinases, mannanases, oxidoreductases, cellulases, pectinases, proteases, and other enzymes, in order to provide improved activity, stability, and solubility in cleaning solutions. In addition, there remains a need in the art for methods to engineer recombinant enzymes that can be expressed at high levels from transformed host cells.